London attack mirrors plot to behead Muslim soldier

Three men jailed in April had discussed targeting Royal Wootton Bassett, the town where UK troops -- both living and those killed in action -- are repatriated.

Story highlights

A serving British soldier is killed in London by two armed men

In recent years previous Islamist plots have targeted British soldiers on home soil

In separate case three men jailed in April had discussed targeting Wootton Bassett

Western town is where soldiers are repatriated after returning from Afghanistan

The attack on a soldier hacked to death on a London street has echoes of other plots on British soil in recent years.

The victim of Wednesday's attack in Woolwich was a serving soldier based at a nearby barracks, London police say, and the UK government is treating it as a suspected terrorist attack.

In 2007 four men were imprisoned over a plot to kidnap and kill a British Muslim soldier on leave and behead him in a Birmingham garage. The group's ringleader Parviz Khan intended to behead the soldier "like a pig" and release footage of the killing on the internet.

Khan was later imprisoned for life and must serve a minimum of 14 years before he will be considered for release. Three other men, Basiru Gassama, Mohammed Irfan, and Hamid Elasmar, were handed down sentences of between two and seven years for their roles in the plot.

High Court judge Mr Justice Henriques said Khan's aim was to deter any Muslim from joining the British army.

Photos: Attack in Southeast London 24 photos

Photos: Attack in Southeast London24 photos

Attack in Southeast London – Lee Rigby was identified as the victim killed in a cleaver attack on May 22. He was a member of the 2nd Battalion Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. The brutal killing of Rigby shocked the United Kingdom, with Prime Minister David Cameron saying the act appears to have been a terrorist attack.

Hide Caption

1 of 24

Photos: Attack in Southeast London24 photos

Attack in Southeast London – Following his funeral, Royal Fusiliers carry Rigby's coffin out of the Bury Parish Church, on Friday, July 12.

Hide Caption

2 of 24

Photos: Attack in Southeast London24 photos

Attack in Southeast London – People line the streets to watch the funeral procession as it drives away from the church on July 12, in Bury, England.

Hide Caption

3 of 24

Photos: Attack in Southeast London24 photos

Attack in Southeast London – From left, Lyn Rigby, mother of the slain soldier, stepfather Ian Rigby and Lee's wife Rebecca Rigby grieve as Ian reads a family statement on Friday, May 24, in Bury, England.

Hide Caption

4 of 24

Photos: Attack in Southeast London24 photos

Attack in Southeast London – Flowers lay close to the scene where Rigby was killed on May 24, in London.

Hide Caption

5 of 24

Photos: Attack in Southeast London24 photos

Attack in Southeast London – A man places flowers near the scene on May 24.

Hide Caption

6 of 24

Photos: Attack in Southeast London24 photos

Attack in Southeast London – A police officer stands with flowers in a storm on Thursday, May 23, close to the crime scene in front of Woolwich Barracks in southeast London.

Attack in Southeast London – Flowers lie outside Woolwich Barracks on May 23.

Hide Caption

9 of 24

Photos: Attack in Southeast London24 photos

Attack in Southeast London – Soldiers walk outside Woolwich Barracks on Thursday, May 23, near where the soldier was killed.

Hide Caption

10 of 24

Photos: Attack in Southeast London24 photos

Attack in Southeast London – Notes and shirts sit outside Woolwich Barracks on May 23. The slain soldier was wearing a "Help for Heroes" shirt when he was killed.

Hide Caption

11 of 24

Photos: Attack in Southeast London24 photos

Attack in Southeast London – British soldiers stand guard outside the barracks on May 23.

Hide Caption

12 of 24

Photos: Attack in Southeast London24 photos

Photos: Attack in Southeast London – Britain's prime Minister David Cameron addresses media representatives at 10 Downing Street in London on May 23, a day after a soldier who was hacked to death in a London street by two suspected Islamist extremists.

Hide Caption

13 of 24

Photos: Attack in Southeast London24 photos

Attack in Southeast London – Members of the far-right English Defence League wear balaclavas as they gather outside a pub in Woolwich on Wednesday, May 22.

Hide Caption

14 of 24

Photos: Attack in Southeast London24 photos

Attack in Southeast London – EDL supporters confront police in Woolwich on May 22.

Hide Caption

15 of 24

Photos: Attack in Southeast London24 photos

Attack in Southeast London – EDL leader Tommy Robinson joins supporters at the crime scene on May 22.

Hide Caption

16 of 24

Photos: Attack in Southeast London24 photos

Attack in Southeast London – A police officer guards a tent that's been set up at the crime scene as investigations continue late May 22.

Hide Caption

17 of 24

Photos: Attack in Southeast London24 photos

Attack in Southeast London – Mary Warder brings flowers to the scene of the crime on May 22 to pay respects to the victim.

Hide Caption

18 of 24

Photos: Attack in Southeast London24 photos

Attack in Southeast London – Men place flowers near the scene on John Wilson Street.

Hide Caption

19 of 24

Photos: Attack in Southeast London24 photos

Attack in Southeast London – A police officer guards a blocked-off area in Woolwich on May 22.

Hide Caption

20 of 24

Photos: Attack in Southeast London24 photos

Attack in Southeast London – A general view of Woolwich Barracks, near the scene of the crime.

Hide Caption

21 of 24

Photos: Attack in Southeast London24 photos

Attack in Southeast London – Police officers block off a road in Woolwich.

Hide Caption

22 of 24

Photos: Attack in Southeast London24 photos

Attack in Southeast London – Forensic officers investigate the crime scene on May 22.

Hide Caption

23 of 24

Photos: Attack in Southeast London24 photos

Attack in Southeast London – Police walk to the scene in Woolwich on May 22.

Just Watched

Man who taped London suspect speaks out

"So rampant are your views, so excitable your temperament, so persuasive your tongue and so imbued with energy are you, it's quite impossible to predict when, if ever, it will be safe for you to be released into the public," the Guardian quoted the judge as saying.

"It was a plot whose purpose was to undermine democratic government, to demoralize the British army and to destabilize recruitment, and to cause anguish to the then prime minister of the day and the loyal citizens of the country," the judge said.

Prosecutors said Khan hoped to kidnap the Muslim soldier in Birmingham's Broad Street entertainment quarter with the help of drug dealers.

This is not the only recent example of serving soldiers being the targets of terrorist attacks. Last month three British-born men were imprisoned for between four and nine years for preparing acts of terrorism. The men, who pleaded guilty had discussed targeting Royal Wootton Bassett, a town that became a focal point for parades by UK troops returning from service in Afghanistan.

The judge, Mr. Justice Simon, said they had shown themselves to be "committed fundamentalists" ready to kill. Muslim convert Richard Dart, a former BBC security guard, and co-defandant Imran Mahmood had discussed how to make explosives, with the western English town as a potential bombing target.